Vintage Guilty Pleasures?

[Two Types]

If only i had the balls to try this look:

The band 'Sailor' in the mid 1970s. The trouble is that the sailor look is seen as a bit gay these days. I'm not sure a middle aged straight man can really get away with that look.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

I quite like the sailor look. I couldn't care less it is considered "gay" for some people. Or maybe that's part of the fun? Playing with clichees...

I often wear striped t-shirts in the summer or pair them with chambray shirts. I also had a pair of vintage (50s?) bell bottom sailor pants with the buttoning on the sides. Peacoats are great too but I never owned a vintage one. I modelled a sailor outfit for the repro brand of my girlfriend. But to we heard the same complaint: some won't wear it because it could be seen as "gay".

 

[old barnacle]

Sailor look is the best, especially when you have that distictive tar smell !
I´m not sure, if I would wear a captain´s cap though.

 

[sproily]

I have a vintage peacoat for you Flo if you want it.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Oh yes! If it would fit me I would love to take it. Is it finnish? American?

 

[Two Types]

I modelled a sailor outfit for the repro brand of my girlfriend. But to we heard the same complaint: some won't wear it because it could be seen as "gay".

Are we going to see the pics?

 

[Edward]

I've always been a fan of that, too. No idea why, as I think most of the 70's stuff looks very outlandish.

It's not a Seventies look in origin, though - that's just the last time it came around in men's fashion. It was common in the Fifties, and I've even seen enough photos of men in the Forties wearing shirt collars out over the jacket collar to be able to surmise it was fairly frequently done back then too. I like it - i I'm not wearing a tie or a cravat, it' a much more 'done up' look than simply have the collar flap about inside the jacket (a very common look I see nowadays. A lot of men I know professionally don't are to wear a tie when they can avoid it, simply wearing the suit and shirt as normal, but with the top button undone. The David Cameron look. I don't like it at all - it looks like a guy who has either removed his tie and forgotten it somewhere, or is trying to make a "statement" by not wearing a tie). I like it a lot if I'm going for a jacket and trousers, no-tie rockabilly casual look.

White trousers with white shoes: My normal clothing is rather subdued and my wife tends not to comment on my clothes. But she thinks white trousers are too much. Then, when I walk around in my area (suburban London) people look at me as if I am wearing something truly outlandish (despite the fact that load of people will be wearing white track suits and there will be plenty of Africans wearing shiny white suits or full white robes). But I love the summer sports look.

Me too - though usually all the attention goes to my shoes, as I rarely wear anything other than co-respondents from mid March through to mid September. The best reaction I ever had to those was a small child's voice, coming from behind me, saying "Mummy, why is that man wearing Lady Shoes?" Cue sound of embarrassed parent hurriedly shushing said child... lol

well i don't own anything 'bad taste' so can't answer that one.

however, although i'd never wear it, i can't help but admire the chutzpah that went into the creation of a jacket like this by Tommy Nutter, the late rebel of Savile Row:

perhaps it's because it takes the 30s belt-back features that i like and exaggerates them to the point of no return ?
it almost seems inevitable that someone had to push things this far, and that person was Tommy Nutter.

I would wear that in a heartbeat. If I had the money to be able to go Savile Row on occasion, but not so often that it became the norm, I could see me going for something out of the ordinary like that given the opportunity. When I had a pair of co-respondents custom made here in Beijing a few years ago, I opted for a colour scheme that I've never seen off the rack simply because it was different, not something I'll ever find on the shelves at home (rangey-tan vamp with a burgundy toe and heel, as it happens. Sounds..... odd... but it works).

If only i had the balls to try this look:

The band 'Sailor' in the mid 1970s. The trouble is that the sailor look is seen as a bit gay these days. I'm not sure a middle aged straight man can really get away with that look.

I imagine the Village People / YMCA references would get old fast. I can still see it really working onstage, though - maybe moreso now because of the very stereotype. I'm thinking of it being worn in a deliberately provacative manner - much like the New York Dolls' use of drag (and later Soviet imagery) in an in-your-face, we-dare-you-to-call-us-"fags" way. I'm a fan of that kind of tribal dressing myself. I do still have a sailor hat somewhere (think: Royal Navy, unpeaked, standard issue hat). My local Scout group were Sea Scouts (a rare beast; one of three troops in Ireland), and our uniform deviated from the norm for regular SWcouts in that we wore a sailor hat and a heavy, navy sweater with the legend "Sea Scouts" embroidered in white across the chest. Great for Winter, not so much the Summer months... Just recently, I've been thinking about the naval look, actually... I've seen a couple of different made-for-television dramatisations of the sinking of the Titanic, and I've really taken a notion for one of the crew sweaters I've seen in both (obviously replicas of the original uniforms). Navy in colour, they are otherwise very similar to the RN Submariner sweater. White Star Line legend and star logo embroidered in white across the front. I'd love it if those were replicated. Now that Northern Ireland, with the centenary, has taken a very proactive line in promoting Belfast as the place where the Titanic was built, hopefully somebody will reproduce those as a business venture.

 

[scottyrocks]

A lot of men I know professionally don't are to wear a tie when they can avoid it, simply wearing the suit and shirt as normal, but with the top button undone. The David Cameron look. I don't like it at all - it looks like a guy who has either removed his tie and forgotten it somewhere, or is trying to make a "statement" by not wearing a tie). I like it a lot if I'm going for a jacket and trousers, no-tie rockabilly casual look.

My wife and I just had a discussion about this. In general, when it comes to catered affairs, she wants me to dress more casually than I would if left to own devices. She likes what I call the "I 'forgot' to put a tie on with my suit" look. She thinks it's sexy. I think it looks incomplete or forced, as you said.

Another issue is when an invitation says 'cocktail attire.' Cocktail attire today is not what it used to be. Neither is 'night club attire.' It's significantly more casual now. I'm going to have look for a compromise that both of us are comfortable with.

 

[Gin&Tonics]

My wife and I just had a discussion about this. In general, when it comes to catered affairs, she wants me to dress more casually than I would if left to own devices. She likes what I call the "I 'forgot' to put a tie on with my suit" look. She thinks it's sexy. I think it looks incomplete or forced, as you said.

Another issue is when an invitation says 'cocktail attire.' Cocktail attire today is not what it used to be. Neither is 'night club attire.' It's significantly more casual now. I'm going to have look for a compromise that both of us are comfortable with.

Sounds like you have similar problems with your wife as I have with mine. She doesn't like me to be "so dressed up" all the time. She prefers no tie if possible whereas I seem to be going for a tie more often than not these days. I think I love ties lol

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I know it's not a seventies look, originally. With the real wide collars, it has a definite seventies look, though. I think you're right about it being a sharp look if the person isn't wearing a tie. I wear my shirt that way for church, as I don't wear a tie to church unless it's a big event.

It's not a Seventies look in origin, though - that's just the last time it came around in men's fashion. It was common in the Fifties, and I've even seen enough photos of men in the Forties wearing shirt collars out over the jacket collar to be able to surmise it was fairly frequently done back then too. I like it - i I'm not wearing a tie or a cravat, it' a much more 'done up' look than simply have the collar flap about inside the jacket (a very common look I see nowadays. A lot of men I know professionally don't are to wear a tie when they can avoid it, simply wearing the suit and shirt as normal, but with the top button undone. The David Cameron look. I don't like it at all - it looks like a guy who has either removed his tie and forgotten it somewhere, or is trying to make a "statement" by not wearing a tie). I like it a lot if I'm going for a jacket and trousers, no-tie rockabilly casual look.

 

[jamespowers]

Sounds like you have similar problems with your wife as I have with mine. She doesn't like me to be "so dressed up" all the time. She prefers no tie if possible whereas I seem to be going for a tie more often than not these days. I think I love ties lol

I love ties as well. My wife knows that if I wear a sportcoat or suit then I am going to wear a tie and thinks nothing of it. She would be shocked if I DIDN'T wear a tie.

 

[jamespowers]

I imagine the Village People / YMCA references would get old fast. I can still see it really working onstage, though - maybe moreso now because of the very stereotype. I'm thinking of it being worn in a deliberately provacative manner - much like the New York Dolls' use of drag (and later Soviet imagery) in an in-your-face, we-dare-you-to-call-us-"fags" way. I'm a fan of that kind of tribal dressing myself. I do still have a sailor hat somewhere (think: Royal Navy, unpeaked, standard issue hat). My local Scout group were Sea Scouts (a rare beast; one of three troops in Ireland), and our uniform deviated from the norm for regular SWcouts in that we wore a sailor hat and a heavy, navy sweater with the legend "Sea Scouts" embroidered in white across the chest. Great for Winter, not so much the Summer months... Just recently, I've been thinking about the naval look, actually... I've seen a couple of different made-for-television dramatisations of the sinking of the Titanic, and I've really taken a notion for one of the crew sweaters I've seen in both (obviously replicas of the original uniforms). Navy in colour, they are otherwise very similar to the RN Submariner sweater. White Star Line legend and star logo embroidered in white across the front. I'd love it if those were replicated. Now that Northern Ireland, with the centenary, has taken a very proactive line in promoting Belfast as the place where the Titanic was built, hopefully somebody will reproduce those as a business venture.

Now see that is what came into my mind---the Village People thing.
Buster Poindexter formerly of the New York Dolls changed quite a bit later on. You were more likely to see him in a tuxedo or tails than in women's attire. Like you said, it was more of a schtick than a sexual preference thing. His current iteration is a blues singer persona but we remember him as old Buster quite well here:
[video=youtube_share;XEP2IrByImw]http://youtu.be/XEP2IrByImw[/video]

 

[St. Valentine]

I really like to wear corduroy trousers together with tweed sports jackets and waistcoat but a lot of people think corduroy is a bit square. Same goes fior ties - I´d never wear a suit or sports jacket without one!
Anyhow, if you don´t wear the "regular uniform" of silly modern fashion people will give you funny looks all the time - at least here.

Frank

p.s.: Next stop is suspenders - oh my....

 

[jamespowers]

I really like to wear corduroy trousers together with tweed sports jackets and waistcoat but a lot of people think corduroy is a bit square. Same goes fior ties - I´d never wear a suit or sports jacket without one!
Anyhow, if you don´t wear the "regular uniform" of silly modern fashion people will give you funny looks all the time - at least here.

Frank

p.s.: Next stop is suspenders - oh my....

That is the most interesting part really. They think they are so original with their ridiculous clothing and then when they actually see original---they look at you funny. :rofl: Another reason why I have my signature line.

 

[St. Valentine]

Oh, that´s so true! They don´t have the slightest idea what the origin of style/fashion/looks/clothing is and buy those silly stenciled shirts, even if they don´t know what´s written all over them. Hopeless.... :eusa_doh:
Your signiture hits the nail on the head!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Are we going to see the pics?

Yes. Here they are. I don't wear them as everyday clothes but maybe to a nautical themed swing party or something like this. I don't dance lindy hop though. I should learn it.

 

[Captain Lex]

Those pictures are phenomenal.

 

[Two Types]

FFF: that does look good - but there aren't that many times you can wear an outfit like that.

My twelve year old son is a 'Sea Cadet' and wears a full Royal Navy style uniform. The first time he wore it in the street I heard two girls - just a couple of years older than him - say 'Ah, doesn't he look sweet'. As you can imagine, he was very embarrassed.

 

[jamespowers]

FFF: that does look good - but there aren't that many times you can wear an outfit like that.

My twelve year old son is a 'Sea Cadet' and wears a full Royal Navy style uniform. The first time he wore it in the street I heard two girls - just a couple of years older than him - say 'Ah, doesn't he look sweet'. As you can imagine, he was very embarrassed.

At that age he will be that way. In just a few short years he will be getting dates that way.

 

[Two Types]

Let's hope so! At his age, he thinks the best thing about being a Sea Cadet is getting to sail boats and fire guns. In a couple of years time, he'll start thinking that the best thing about Sea Cadets is that there are loads of girls there!